LSU AD calls out Brian Kelly, says Lane Kiffin will run program more like Nick Saban
By Andrew Olson
Published:
LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry took a shot at former coach Brian Kelly while touting new head coach Lane Kiffin as running the program more like Nick Saban.
Ausberry’s comments come in a recent exclusive interview with USA TODAY Sports. While the LSU AD did not use Kelly’s name, he made his thoughts clear on the former Tiger football coach.
It’s going back to the Saban model, Ausberry told USA TODAY Sports of the program’s redirect. “(That means) running the whole program. Then, you have to go do some things with alumni and do things with boosters and do things with fundraising, with NIL. You have to be a part of that.”
“That’s what Lane will do,” Ausberry continued. “He’ll go out there and have that conversation with the donors and the people who support the program and (say), ‘We need your help,’ and give them his cell number.
“He’s not one who’ll say, ‘OK, I don’t want people to contact me. I don’t want people to touch me. I don’t want people to be around me.’ That’s who we had. That’s why we got what we got. There was no feel, there was no connection between the LSU football program, the coach, and the fans.
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Ausberry further told USA TODAY that there was “no connection” in the LSU football program when Kelly was head coach. Ausberry, who previously served in alumni relations, noted that Kiffin is more welcoming of former LSU players than Kelly was in his 3-plus seasons.
There was no connection and no building” when Kelly was coach, Ausberry said. “Not many employees connected. The former players didn’t connect. Yeah, I’m saying it.
“Now, former players live over there (at the facility), go over there, we welcome them over there, (they) work out over there. That’s what we want. That’s who LSU used to be. Former players came in the weight room, and they worked out. There wasn’t signing no form to be able to work out, or, ‘Who are you? You can’t work out at this time.’
Ausberry is an LSU lifer. He was a Tigers linebacker from 1986-90 and joined the athletic department as an intern in 1991. Saban coached the Tigers from 2000-04.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
